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Dad Banned From Naming Baby 'WikiLeaks'

Melissa Willets

About the Author

Melissa Willets is a mom of three girls, one of whom is a newborn. She writes about pregnancy, parenting, home, health, and beauty. She loves running and drinking red wine - but never simultaneously.

About the Blog

WhatToExpect.com supports Word of Mom as a place to share stories and highlight the many perspectives and experiences of pregnancy and parenting. However, the opinions expressed in this section are those of individual writers and do not reflect the views of Heidi Murkoff of the What to Expect brand.

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Of course you've heard of parents naming their little one 'Facebook' or 'Juan Panties,' but, this moniker that an Iraqi dad wanted to name his son in honor of Julian Assange's website, WikiLeaks, tops the list of unusual baby names.

Hajar Hamalaw, who resides in Germany, wanted to go with this "big meaning" name, however, according to NBC News, an official at Hamalaw's local registry office rejected this moniker, expressing concerns about the baby-to-be's welfare due to the controversial nature of the scandal involving Julian Assange.

"This is not only a simple name for me — it has a big meaning. WikiLeaks has changed the world," said Hamalaw. "We were very disappointed after the rejection. Hundreds of people across the globe were allowed to use the name of Barack Obama's dog for their child, but I can't use WikiLeaks?" Hamalaw challenged.

Um, the Obamas' dog is named Sunny. This baby name conjures up happy, shiny thoughts. How is that potentially harmful for a baby?

Eventually, Hamalaw and his wife settled on the name Dako for the birth certificate, but plan on having friends and family call their son WikiLeaks.

Maybe I'm just not deep enough to get Hamalaw's first choice for a baby name. But if he is set on a name that means "truth," how about going with just that? Or how about the name True? Valid? Just some ideas.

Meanwhile, I think we need to put an end to this trend of picking baby names that are perhaps meaningful or ironic or humorous to parents, but are cruel for the kids who have to walk around with them. A baby shouldn't be your ticket to five minutes of fame.

Do you think this man should have been able to name his baby whatever he wanted? Share below in the comments section!

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